1. Field
The present invention relates to a method for preventing and treating allergic diseases using capsiate or a salt thereof, and more specifically, to a method for preventing, alleviating, or treating allergic diseases, the method comprising administering to or contacting with a subject in need thereof an effective amount of capsiate represented by chemical formula 1 or a salt thereof.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Capsiate as a capsaicin analogue is a kind of capsaicinoid that is mainly found in CH19 Sweet, which is a variety of mildly spicy pepper. Capsiate also activates capsaicin receptors to exhibit equivalent efficacy to capsaicin, such as inhibiting the accumulation of body fat. Capsiate is mildly spicy, and several researches on the mechanism thereof are being carried out, but no concrete achievement has yet been obtained.
Meanwhile, mast cells have been known as intrinsic cells causing several diseases such as allergic rhinitis, allergic atopic dermatitis, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic asthma, food allergies, and anaphylactic shock. These cells are main effector cells that have Fc epsilon receptor 1 (FcεRI) on their surfaces, which is a receptor for an allergy inducing antibody immunoglobulin E (IgE), and mediate a type 1 allergic reaction. The allergic reaction is activated when an antigen contacts an antibody binding to this receptor. There are various methods for treating allergies, but most studies on allergic treatments today are focused on relieving the symptoms instead of removing allergic causes.
Representatively, antagonists of receptors, such as those of histamine and leukotriene, which are secreted from mast cells by allergens, are primary drugs that build a huge market. However, since these drugs show resistance soon after their administration to patients, most drugs do not improve the symptoms of patients after a certain period of time or after repetitive administration. Therefore, the development of anti-allergy medications that does not induce side effects, as found in antihistamines or the like, is being demanded.
Hence, the present inventors, while researching physiological functions of capsiate, have found that capsiate possesses a novel function of inhibiting an allergic reaction caused by the activity of mast cells, and developed a method for preventing or treating allergic diseases using capsiate or a salt thereof, and thus, have completed the present invention.